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KEVIN NAFF
Friday, August 15, 2008
FLORIDA
GOV.
CHARLIE
Crist
(R)
has
flip-flopped
on
the
issue
of
his
state’s
November
ballot
initiative
banning
same-sex
marriage
and
now
supports
the
measure.
It’s
just
the
latest
transparent
move
by
Crist
to
make
himself
more
palatable
to
GOP
conservatives
in
the
hopes
of
being
picked
as
John
McCain’s
running
mate.
He
recently
announced
that
he’s
engaged,
after
living
all
but
seven
months
of
his
life
single.
Crist
was
briefly
married
in
1979.
Blade
readers
will
recall
that
in
2006,
Crist’s
primary
opponent,
Max
Linn
of
the
Reform
Party,
outed
him
on
a
radio
show.
“Charlie,
come
out,
come
out
from
wherever
you
are,”
Linn
said
on
the
radio
show.
Crist
has
repeatedly
denied
the
rumors.
When
a
Miami
radio
host
asked
Crist
about
the
rumors
two
years
ago,
he
responded,
“The
point
is,
I’m
not.
There’s
the
answer.
How
do
you
like
it?
Not
that
there’s
anything
wrong
with
that,
as
they
say
on
Seinfeld.
But
I
just
happen
not
to
be.”
But
Linn
claims
that
Crist’s
sexual
orientation
is
an
open
secret
in
Florida,
much
like
Mark
Foley’s
was.
“In
my
opinion,
it’s
widely
known
throughout
the
Republican
Party
that
Crist
is
gay,”
Linn
said.
Until
last
week,
Crist
had
mostly
stayed
out
of
the
debate
over
the
Florida
amendment,
which
is
unnecessary
because
state
law
already
bars
same-sex
couples
from
marrying.
He
adopted
a
“live
and
let
live”
approach
to
the
issue.
But
with
national
Republican
leaders
now
eyeing
him
more
closely,
it
was
time
to
butch
it
up
and,
naturally,
bash
the
gays.
It’s
unfortunate
that
Crist
and
other
rumored
closet
cases
(e.g.
Lindsey
Graham)
refuse
to
learn
from
Foley
and
Larry
Craig’s
mistakes.
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